First Solar, Inc. is a manufacturer of thin film photovoltaic (PV) modules, or solar panels, and a provider to PV power plants of services that include finance, construction, maintenance and end-of-life panel recycling. First Solar uses cadmium telluride (CdTe) as a semiconductor to produce panels. The company was founded in 1990 by inventor Harold McMaster as Solar Cells, Inc. In 1999 it was purchased by True North Partners, LLC, who rebranded it as First Solar, Inc.

This is a publicly traded company and is listed on NASDAQ: FSLR. The company registered a total revenue of USD 532.8 million in the second quarter of 2011, with a net income of USD 61.1 million.

First Solar is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona and has offices worldwide . First Solar has manufacturing facilities in Perrysburg, Ohio, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, and Kulim, Malaysia. First Solar has more than 6,400 global associates. The net sales in 2010 was USD 2.56 bn.

Business line, products and service offerings:

PV Modules: The company manufactures thin film PV modules using CdTe (Cadmium telluride) as semiconductor, which offers enhanced suitability for affordable and efficient PV modules.

Utility-Scale PV System: First Solar offers turn-key PV power plants, in ground-mounted as well as in commercial and industrial rooftop applications. In certain regions, including the United States and Canada, First Solar provides utility customers and independent power producers (IPPs) with complete PV system solutions, including project development, financing, and asset sale, engineering, procurement and construction, as well as operations and maintenance for the life of the project.

Service offerings :

First Solar offers a selection of proven services for integrated solar solutions, including EPC, O&M and collection and recycling.

EPC: First Solar Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) team manages site-specific design, construction permitting, construction, commissioning, and the installation and tracking of data monitoring systems. EPC has constructed and commissioned the world’s largest PV power plant, located in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, and several of the largest PV power plants in North America.

O&M: First Solar’s Operations & Maintenance (O&M) team offers service with standardized procedures and processes. First Solar operates and maintains customer facilities.

Top Management

Recent News

4 August, 2011 – Pacific Gas and Electric Company (NYSE: PCG) and Sempra Generation, a subsidiary of San Diego-based Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), announced that they had entered into a 25-year contract for 150 megawatts (MW) of renewable power from an expansion of Sempra Generation's Copper Mountain Solar complex in Boulder City, Nev. First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) will provide the ground mounted thin film panels and serve as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the solar project.